This invention relates to a motion sickness expression apparatus, and more particularly to a motion sickness expression apparatus which is adapted to bring about expression of motion sickness such as acceleration sickness, kinetosis or the like on a person carried in any optional posture on a body carrying section of the apparatus.
Motion sickness is neurosis appearing or expressed on a person when he or she receives a motion impetus in any vehicle or conveyance and causes symptoms such as nausea, vomiting and the like. In order to deal with motion sickness, an approach such as administration of a motion sickness medicine before riding, administration of a remedy medicine for relieving motion sickness after expression of the motion sickness or the like is generally adopted.
In general, such medicines are ultimately clinically tried on persons actually riding vehicles through an animal experiment after development thereof. Thus, an experiment of the medicines on a human being requires to run a vehicle which he or she rides at a predetermined velocity for a predetermined period of time at every experiment. Unfortunately, this requires much time and labor. Thus, it is highly desirable to develop an apparatus which is capable of actually attaining expression of motion sickness in a laboratory and repeating the experiment many times.
Also, development of such an apparatus which brings about expression of motion sickness at a stage of a laboratory would lead to development of seats for various vehicles such as an automobile, a train and the like without requiring to actually set the seats in the vehicles.
The present invention has been made in view of the foregoing disadvantage of the prior art while taking notice of the fact that as a result of a careful study by the inventors, incorporation of a magnetic spring in a motion sickness expression apparatus permits the apparatus to readily generate vibration in a motion sickness expression region while being simplified in structure.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a motion sickness expression apparatus which is capable of causing expression of motion sickness on a person carrying in any posture on the apparatus without setting the apparatus in a vehicle.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a motion sickness expression apparatus which is capable of generating vibration in a motion sickness expression region while being simplified in structure.
In accordance with the present invention, a motion sickness expression apparatus is provided, which includes a body carrying section for carrying a human body thereon and a vibration application unit for supporting the body carrying unit in a manner to permit vibration of the body carrying unit.
The vibration application unit includes a base, a vertical vibrator to which the base is connected so as to be vertically movable with respect to the base through link members and which is constructed so as to support the body carrying section thereon, and a magnetic spring mechanism including permanent magnets arranged on the base and vertical vibrator so as to repel each other, respectively. The magnetic spring mechanism also includes an actuator for moving the permanent magnet arranged on the base to vary areas of the permanent magnets opposite to each other, leading to vibration of the vertical vibrator. Thus, vibration of the body carrying section can be controlled through the vertical vibrator vibrated by repulsion force of the permanent magnet on the vertical vibrator with respect to the permanent magnet on the base due to driving of the actuator so that an acceleration of vibration of the body carrying section falls within a motion sickness expression region.
Thus, the present invention is featured by formation of any random waveform through excitation by amplification (pseudo-resonance or amplification excitation using energy accumulated in a magnetic spring) or excitation by attenuation rather than formation of one-to-one random waveform by electrical control. Also, the present invention is featured by excitation using a magnitude of a magnetic gradient in a magnetic circuit.
Also, in accordance with the present invention, a motion sickness expression apparatus is provided, which includes a body carrying section for carrying a human body thereon and a vibration application unit for supporting the body carrying unit in a manner to permit vibration of the body carrying unit.
The vibration application unit includes a base, a vertical vibrator to which the base is connected so as to be vertically movable with respect to the base through link members, a horizontal vibrator mounted on the vertical vibrator so as to be horizontally movable and constructed so as to support the body carrying section thereon, and a magnetic spring mechanism including permanent magnets arranged on the base and vertical vibrator so as to repel each other, respectively. The magnetic spring mechanism also includes an actuator for moving the permanent magnet arranged on the base to vary areas of the permanent magnets opposite to each other, leading to vibration of the vertical vibrator. Thus, vibration of the body carrying section can be controlled through the vertical vibrator and horizontal vibrator vibrated by repulsion force of the permanent magnet on the vertical vibrator with respect to the permanent magnet on the base due to driving of the actuator so that an acceleration of vibration of the body carrying section falls within a motion sickness expression region.
In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the permanent magnet on the base and the permanent magnet on the vertical vibrator during non-application of vibration are arranged in positional relationship which permits the permanent magnets to be contacted with each other at portions thereof increased in magnetic gradient.
In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the apparatus further includes an auxiliary spring mechanism for supplementing holding force for spacedly holding the permanent magnets at a predetermined interval. The auxiliary spring mechanism is arranged between the base and the vertical vibrator.
In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the apparatus further includes a position holding means for keeping opposite areas of the permanent magnet on the base and the permanent magnet on the vertical vibrator and an interval therebetween during non-application of vibration constant.
In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the position holding means includes a first position holding magnet arranged forwardly or rearwardly in a direction of movement of a moving structure of an actuator for movably holding the permanent magnet arranged on the base and a second position holding magnet which is arranged opposite to the first position holding magnet on the base and of which an opposite area with respect to the first position holding magnet is adjustable.
In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the horizontal vibrator includes a base frame carried on the vertical vibrator, a horizontally movable member arranged so as to be movable with respect to the base frame, and an actuator of which a moving structure horizontally moving is connected through spring members to the horizontally movable member.
In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the apparatus includes an additional horizontal vibrator arranged in a direction perpendicular to a direction of vibration of the horizontal vibrator on the horizontal vibrator.
In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the body carrying section is formed into a seat-like configuration and includes a seat cushion and seat back.
In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the permanent magnets arranged on the base and vertical vibrator each are constituted by a multi-pole magnet.
In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the permanent magnets arranged on the base and vertical vibrator each are constituted by a double-pole magnet. The permanent magnets are so arranged that the same poles thereof are opposite to each other while keeping a direction of operation of the permanent magnet on the base parallel to an interface between an N pole of the double-pole magnet and an S pole thereof.
In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the permanent magnets arranged on the base and vertical vibrator each are constituted by a double-pole magnet. The permanent magnets are so arranged that the same poles thereof are opposite to each other while keeping a direction of operation of the permanent magnet on the base perpendicular to an interface between an N pole of the double-pole magnet and an S pole thereof.